(or: What am I looking for in “Christian” movies?)
So I haven’t seen Noah. Not planning to see it. It’s just not one that interests me. Besides the fact that I’m very suspicious of
Hollywood trying to do either Christian or biblical movies, it just doesn’t
look very good to me.
I may be wrong. I’ve
been wrong before. When I was a kid, my
parents took me to the theater to see “Crocodile”
Dundee, and I literally cried in the car because I didn’t want to see
it. Turns out I really enjoyed it, and
when the second one came out, I was first in line.
So maybe it’s brilliant.
Maybe it’s a masterpiece. Maybe
someone will convince me to see it when it’s on Netflix. But right now, I’m counting down the days to Captain America: Winter Solider, and Noah is not on my radar.
But I’m interested in the Christian world’s response to the
film. The filmmaker admits he’s not
trying to make a terribly accurate movie.
This is not some devout Christian who is trying to translate the text to
the screen. Someone is using the story
as a jumping-off point to tell a different sort of movie.
(As a side note, sometimes this works, but what’s the
point? For example, I would have liked G. I. Joe a lot better if the
characters’ names were different, and they called it Silly Action Film with ‘Splosions!, but instead I was annoyed that
they ruined a perfectly good story. If
you want to tell a different sort of story, just do it and call it something
else instead of pretending that it is tied to some book or show or classic
story.)
So a lot of people are angry at this movie. Some of those same people loved last year’s The Bible, which was a theological train
wreck, which is where I come in to ask this question – what are we looking for
in a Christian or biblical movie? (Those
are not the same thing – Noah is a
biblical one, but perhaps not a Christian one, while Fireproof is a Christian movie, but not a biblical one.)
I’ve picked out two reviews that show the two ends of the
spectrum when it comes to Noah. The first is very critical of it as a movie and as a theological movie. The second approves on both counts. Both
of these articles have spoilers, and so will this post.
Not having seen the movies, I really don’t know which I
agree with, but there are some really important points raised in the first one
are glossed over in the second, and so I’m thinking I would lean more to the
critical one if I actually saw it. But the
question I want to ask today is this: if I were to see the movie, what would I
be looking for?
1) The portrayal of the character and works of God.
Let’s just be frank here.
If the portrayal of God is wrong or misleading, then the film is
literally blasphemous.
And before you want to argue this point, read up on the
Westminster Larger Catechism here and here.
Look up the Scripture citations. Then
we can discuss.
Let’s be frank here, Christians who misrepresent God are
much more at fault here than an unbeliever who does it, because we should know
better. Still, all men recognize
something of God’s character (Romans 1), so they are without excuse. If they are building a god in their own
image, then that’s idolatry. That is a
horrible sin, and we pass over it way too much.
Here’s where I’m concerned about Noah. The first review tells
about how Noah is determined to wipe out humanity by killing his
grandchildren. The second review passes
over this very quickly, saying that the addition is “neutral.”
Well, does the movie depict this as something that the
movie’s main character made up in his head, or is that the command of the
movie’s god? The difference is
monumental. There is plenty of sin in
the biblical characters, and I wouldn’t necessarily fault the filmmakers for
adding one (as long as it doesn’t affect the point), even though it draws into
question the accuracy with which Noah understood God. The Bible suggests that Noah understood God
quite clearly and quite accurately. But
if God commanded this, then we are really dealing with a false and idolatrous
god.
The answer may be in the film’s environmental approach. We have a disagreement in the reviews again
on this point. In the first,
environmentalism the point of the film.
In the second, it’s an element.
Again we ask the question – in this movie, why is God destroying these
people? Is it because of their sin, or
is it to save nature? Now, their
destruction of the environment may be one of their sins – the Bible doesn’t
say. But if we are saying in this movie
that God is destroying His image-bearers so that the rest of the planet can go
on happily without us, then that disparages the character of God and His plan
of redemption.
Did God save or destroy mankind in the Flood? The Biblical God saved mankind. The god of this movie seems to have wanted to
destroy mankind, but failed because Noah chickened out in killing his
grandchildren, putting into question his sovereignty, his power, and his
goodness.
In Christian movies that are not biblical, this plays out a
bit differently. We know why God caused
the Flood. It’s in the Bible. But when we are dealing with fiction, we
should make sure that the depiction of God is consistent with His
character. I read one novel lately that
depicted God as impotent in the affairs of men.
That is a false god that does not exist.
Another film I watched made Him powerful, but completely unable to move
the heart to salvation. That’s not the
true God. The true God draws people to
Himself, and the Son does not lose one of those people.
Am I splitting hairs here?
Again, let’s look to what the Bible says. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your
God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in
vain” (Exodus 20:7). Taking the Lord’s
name in vain is not simply using it as a curse word, though that is part of
it. Again, I would direct you to the
questions in the Larger Catechism linked above for a really great discussion on
this.
2) The portrayal of the image of God.
It does not appear that this movie deals with this, which is
good. But a lot of others have. God does not look like Morgan Freeman or
George Burns. God commands us not to
fashion images of Himself. It does us no
good to disobey God and put an actor in his place in a movie.
Now, the issue of Jesus in a film is an interesting one, and
one I’m not prepared at this point to answer.
We don’t have the time, and I would need to study on it a lot more
before publishing on the question. There
are good arguments on the side that we are allowed to portray the image of
Jesus, since He came in the flesh. But
there are very good arguments on the other side too, so I’m going to leave that
one up in the air for now and we may need to come back to it another time.
That being said, we should not have God the Father portrayed
in a movie. Period.
3) The portrayal of the Gospel and condition of man.
I’m encouraged, based on the second review, that this movie
appears to depict the true depravity of man.
That is a point in the film’s favor.
We don’t see this nearly enough.
Too many times we are seen in films as basically good people who maybe
need some direction or need to be turned to the right path.
We see this in a lot of “Christian” “art” that isn’t even
really distinctly Christian. It’s more
in the “fix your life” type of film that, if it mentions God at all, appeals to
a generic god that just wants to help you out.
Unfortunately, we see this in our preaching too.
The biblical anthropology is that we are dead in trespasses
and sin, slaves to sin, unable to respond unless the Father draws us. No one seek after good, we are not righteous,
no not one. We are lost, dead, and
hopeless unless the creator God grants us life.
The view of man in this film appears to be good, but what I
would be interested in seeing is the view of salvation. Is the “righteous” man depicted as one who
hates his fellow man, even threatening to kill his unborn grandchildren? Is salvation in this movie the destruction of
mankind?
Let’s remember, after all, that the story of the Flood is a
type and shadow of salvation.
Destruction is coming, but those who believed the Word of the Lord found
life and safety on the ark. Our ark is
Christ, the one who rescues His people, those who believe in Him, from
destruction. Is that story of the most
glorious Gospel message paralleled in this film? I would not expect that connection to be
exegeted in detail on film, but at the same time, if the story is so different
that it no longer applies, then it’s no longer Christian, is it? And it’s not biblical.
* * *
I’ve probably gone on longer than I needed to, but I thought
the opportunity was good to explain what we might look for in these sorts of
films. We need training in this area,
and that’s one of the reasons I’m doing this blog. There are some notable exceptions, but the
visible church has largely rejected Noah
but seemed to have really liked The Bible
miniseries, which is just as bad, and probably far worse. We need much more training in what is
honoring to God and what is not, and we should not support those things that
are dishonoring to Him.
I haven’t seen Noah, so I don’t know whether it is or it
isn’t. This post is about questions I
would ask of the movie. Feel free to let
me know whether you thought it was a good one or not.
I still probably won’t see it – Captain America comes out this week.
